04.03.18
Gemini version available ♊︎The Mass Litigation Lobby Craves for Patent Armageddon
And it does not always want its critics to see what it’s doing/saying
Summary: The propaganda arm of patent trolls and other patent aggressors (those who would rather sue than create) keeps promoting patent maximalism, the Unified Patent Court (UPC), and even draconian injunctions (embargo) which are almost synonymous with UPC-type visions
AS another month starts, following a short holiday, we return to covering USPTO matters only to receive nasty threats in the post (from those attempting to silence us). This time it comes from another continent (America), not from Europe. That really says a lot about the patent microcosm, doesn’t it? A bunch of bullies. And the bullying isn’t limited to patent trolls; even law firms and management of the EPO can do it.
“They are already drooling over litigation prospects because they, as lawyers, would profit from it (irrespective of the outcome).”Recently, IAM ‘broke’ the story about one troll buying part of another (in Europe). Today it published its magazine article about InterDigital’s acquisition of Technicolor, but don’t expect to find the “T” word (troll) anywhere in there. In fact, there’s a paywall too. They recently broadened their obstruction to access by 'outsiders'. Managing IP does the same thing. On they go with their misleading coverage and it’s mostly/only those who agree with them that can see what they say, hence little/no scrutiny. It’s that ‘echo chamber’ mentality we see at their events. They make it extremely expensive for anyone outside the patent microcosm to attend and don’t even think about a speaking/panel position (not even by becoming a corporate sponsor if the views are too ‘different’ and thus inconvenient to Managing IP, IAM, and their other sponsors).
“Ericsson and/or its patent trolls are already suing in Europe (targeting even foreign firms) and Team UPC habitually celebrates this.”Managing IP is actually being rather laughable this week. Lawyers without much of a clue about blockchains (they’re nontechnical for the most part) ride/suft the hype wave again. Managing IP endlessly mentions blockchains these days, this time in the form of a so-called ‘Special Report’? More like Special PR. And for the second time in a week Managing IP latches onto hype waves, this time CRISPR, in order to sell misleading numbers (“near 200% increase”) and advocate patents on life itself. “Patent filing trends for the gene editing technology indicate a near 200% increase globally between 2013 and 2015, and a continuing boom since. Patrick Wingrove investigates what is driving this and whether a litigation war is brewing,” says the summary. They are already drooling over litigation prospects because they, as lawyers, would profit from it (irrespective of the outcome).
These are the sorts of people who attend Unified Patent Court (UPC) lobbying events and try to impose the UPC on Europe, typically behind the scenes or behind closed doors in “exclusive” events. They just want lots and lots of litigation. Ericsson and/or its patent trolls are already suing in Europe (targeting even foreign firms) and Team UPC habitually celebrates this. Watch that trolls’ jingoism at IP Kat, typically but not always courtesy of Bristows. They just love it! Even when — or especially when — these patent trolls come to London, where they are based. Earlier today Benjamin Henrion wrote:
The Unitary [sic] Patent Court (UPC) is not a democratic structure. It suffers from the same problems as those ISDS investment courts: capture and not counter-balanced by an elected legislator #upc #isds
Henrion already knows what it’s like to be targeted by a patent troll in his home country. Such trolling would be vastly exacerbated by anything resembling the UPC (which is itself in its death throes but can be renamed and reattempted in the future). The UPCA (agreement) was crafted based almost solely on a single author’s paper from 2009 — a paper which was full of errors.
“Henrion already knows what it’s like to be targeted by a patent troll in his home country.”Managing IP and IAM still try to usher in this mess, sometimes emboldened or motivated by payments from the EPO or its PR agencies. It’s gross, but that’s just where we are.
And speaking of IAM, earlier today it wrote about “[h]ow and why Huawei got an injunction in its ground-breaking Chinese FRAND/SEP dispute with Samsung.”
“Managing IP and IAM still try to usher in this mess, sometimes emboldened or motivated by payments from the EPO or its PR agencies.”The title of the corresponding blog post is “Full judgment in Huawei v Samsung details why Shenzhen court hit Korean company with SEP injunction” and it’s similar to what Ericsson’s patent trolls did to Chinese/Asian firms in Europe. China now uses patents to ban Koreans (it already drove LG away, but not yet Samsung). As for BlackBerry? Like Nokia and Ericsson it is becoming less of a practising entity over time. As a former IAM writer put it earlier today: “BlackBerry FY2018 results: Handheld devices revenue -83%; IP licensing revenue +56%.”
BlackBerry is being transformed/warped into “patent troll” mode. Sooner or later it will be just a “holding” company, i.e. an empty shell with nothing but patents. Sites like IAM would then hail it as an “NPE” and speak about how truly wonderful its “monetisation” strategy is. █
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